Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
The present invention proposes a telephone provided with a connected antenna. It is used more particularly in telecommunications applications, in particular in the field of mobile telephones. Mobile telephones are generally provided with a printed circuit connected to a signal transceive antenna. The advantage of the invention is that it proposes a telephone including an antenna that is connected simply to the printed circuit.
In the prior art, a mobile telephone mainly includes a housing, a signal transceive antenna, and a printed circuit. In general, the antenna is mounted on a connector. An antenna screwed onto a connector is known in particular from document U.S. Pat. No. 5,603,630. The assembly constituted by the connector and the screwed-on antenna is inserted in a recess of the housing accepting the connector. The connector provides electrical connection with the printed circuit in direct manner. The recess also presents devices for holding the connector in the housing in reversible manner. For example, the recess in the housing includes devices provided with springs and a lever.
In addition, an extractable antenna cable is known from document EP-A-0 519 411, which includes antenna segments that are held together by a system of strips. Each segment presents a strip extending around its circumference. The strips are compressible. They serve firstly to keep the interfitting segments together, and secondly to provide contact between the various segments of the antenna. In order to be connected to a printed circuit, the extractable antenna requires a connection via a wire soldered between one end of the antenna and a conductive area of the printed circuit. In another example, the antenna must be held in place by a connector mounted on the printed circuit. A retractable antenna is known from document U.S. Pat. No. 5,342,213, which presents resilient catches around its circumference so as to be held in place in a cavity of a telephone housing. The antenna is connected to a connector housed in the bottom of the housing, and is thus connected to a printed circuit.
Prior art antennas pose a problem. The system for connecting a prior art antenna to a printed circuit requires an intermediate connection. A prior art telephone generally includes a first intermediate device to support the antenna, and a second intermediate device to make electrical contact with a printed circuit. In patent U.S. Ser. No. 603,630, the first intermediate device includes, in particular, a nut into which the antenna is screwed, and the second intermediate device is a connector enabling contact to be ensured between the first intermediate device and the printed circuit. In addition, in document EP-A-0 519 411, the telescopic antenna proposed also requires one or more intermediate connectors to ensure connection between the antenna and the printed circuit. In document U.S. Ser. No. 342,213, the antenna provided with resilient catches is connected to an intermediate connector. Another drawback of the prior art is that it requires the step of mounting the antenna to be performed after the various electrical elements of the telephone have been mounted.
An object of the invention is to remedy the above-mentioned problem by proposing a telephone including a housing and an antenna, the antenna being contained in a duct of the support so as to be in direct electrical contact with a printed circuit contained inside the housing. The antenna is held inside the housing by mechanical means. The mechanical means is presented by the antenna having a particular shape. In particular, the mechanical means can be a resilient catch presented by the antenna, the resilient catch engaging in a notch of the housing. The antenna is disposed inside the housing so that one of its ends is held against a conductive area of the printed circuit. In addition, another advantage proposed by that solution is that it is easy to mount such an antenna in a housing. In addition, the antenna can be mounted before the electrical components are put in place inside the housing of the telephone.
The invention thus provides a telephone including a housing, a circuit received in a cavity of said housing, and an antenna assembly comprising an antenna segment held by mechanical means in an opening of said housing, wherein the antenna assembly includes a protuberance that bears against a conductive area of the circuit.